Students and staff at Riverview High School are receiving support following a swatting incident earlier this week.
A hoax call warning of pipe bombs and armed people led to a lockdown and later an evacuation on Monday afternoon.
RCMP Insp. Jonathan White said someone called the school around 1 p.m., saying they had just dropped off a student who had several pipe bombs.
“The individual named inside the school would have placed one pipe bomb outside and had two more placed inside the school,” White told Riverview council Monday night.
“The unknown caller stated that they would be outside with several other people with guns waiting for the students to exit the school.”
RELATED: ‘Swatting’ incident led to Riverview High evacuation
RCMP officers did not locate any devices or weapons, he said, and surveillance footage showed the student did not place anything near or inside the school.
Classes resumed on Tuesday morning, though many students and staff members have likely been dealing with lots of anxiety in the days since.
Our newsroom requested an interview with the Anglophone East School District to discuss how they work to address any fears and anxiety.
Instead, spokesperson Stephanie Patterson sent a statement by email, saying staff were debriefed before classes began on Tuesday morning.
“We provide staff with information they can use to alleviate student anxiety should they need it,” Patterson said in an email to our newsroom.
“School counsellors and school and/or district staff are always available for students should they need to access support.”
Patterson added that staff always review their protocols after incidents like this to look for any improvements in the future.
